Yesterday Lacey and I went on our usual trail which is about a mile both ways and over varying terrain of crushed gravel/asphalt/"gravel road" type gravel/dirt.
Usually she has no problem walking/trotting and even cantering over that. I don't let her canter or trot on the asphalt for obvious reasons, but over the gravel and dirt areas, she doesn't think twice (and she's the type that if something is hurting, she WILL let you know).
However, yesterday she was having huuuuge issues with the gravel, even just at a walk. She kept stumbling when she'd step on a larger piece of gravel so I didn't ask her to trot since I didn't want to die if she hit an ouchy rock at that greater speed. I did ask her to trot on the dirt section, just to make sure she wasn't head bobbing (since she was having these issues with her front hooves, her back ones seemed fine) and she wasn't bobbing her head at all. She was even trying to walk on the grass by the edge of the trail which she never does, so that tells me that she was hurting enough that she "had" to find a solution.

The only thing I can think of that might have caused this is that she just got trimmed on Friday after not being trimmed for about 9 weeks (we had to reschedule her trim which had been scheduled for 8 weeks) and her hooves had been a little long, to me. The trimmer said that she didn't feel that they were very long when I commented on how long I felt like they were (Lacey is kept rather short so I'm used to that, but to the average horse person they were probably short to normal).

I got off to check her hooves at least three times and every time they looked fine... She was perfectly sound on the dirt, the asphalt and in her pasture, her legs/hooves didn't have any heat, and they didn't have a pulse (I was a little worried that she was foundering or something since she has had slight issues with that before, she's very svelte right now so I'm not too worried and her pasture is good, but it was something to consider)...so I'm thinking maybe it was just the trim? I hadn't taken her on a ride down that trail since her trim...

I pressed on her hooves/frogs/heels all over and didn't get a reaction at all other than "Hey! What are you doing checking my hooves on the trail? We were going places!", but her frogs did feel soft. My trimmer says that she just has naturally soft frogs and that as long as she's happy (which she is, usually) we don't need to worry about it.

Should I be worried? Or is this pretty normal, even for a horse that's never been significantly ouchy on gravel before, and I've just never experienced it?

My horse is always 'ouchy' on gravel for a week or so following a trim. If she is fine to w/t/c on the grass, then that is probably all it is.
I keep my guy in front shoes from late spring to late fall because he is sensitive, and because unfortunately the bulk of my riding is on gravel.

However, yesterday she was having huuuuge issues with the gravel, even just at a walk. She kept stumbling when she'd step on a larger piece of gravel so I didn't ask her to trot since I didn't want to die if she hit an ouchy rock at that greater speed. I did ask her to trot on the dirt section, just to make sure she wasn't head bobbing (since she was having these issues with her front hooves, her back ones seemed fine) and she wasn't bobbing her head at all. She was even trying to walk on the grass by the edge of the trail which she never does, so that tells me that she was hurting enough that she "had" to find a solution.

The only thing I can think of that might have caused this is that she just got trimmed on Friday after not being trimmed for about 9 weeks (we had to reschedule her trim which had been scheduled for 8 weeks) and her hooves had been a little long, to me. The trimmer said that she didn't feel that they were very long when I commented on how long I felt like they were (Lacey is kept rather short so I'm used to that, but to the average horse person they were probably short to normal).

After a trim, this type of soreness is usually caused by too much sole being removed, not necessarily the trim itself. Trimming the sole is mainly for hygienic purposes (e.g. Removing areas that may provide a good environment for bacteria/fungus), but in my experience, many farriers/trimmers love their hoof knife and its easy to take off too much. Our barefoot friends need all the sole they can get, especially on sharp rocks like gravel, and you would be surprised at what a difference removing even a seemingly small amount of sole can make to a horse's comfort.
This is a very common complaint, and even good farriers/trimmers do make mistakes. Keep her off the sharp stuff for a week or two, and mention the soreness to your trimmer.

Thanks for the reassurance! Hopefully she'll be better next week. I was just worried because being that ouchy is totally out of character for Lacey.
I feel better now. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaintHorseMares

After a trim, this type of soreness is usually caused by too much sole being removed, not necessarily the trim itself. Trimming the sole is mainly for hygienic purposes (e.g. Removing areas that may provide a good environment for bacteria/fungus), but in my experience, many farriers/trimmers love their hoof knife and its easy to take off too much. Our barefoot friends need all the sole they can get, especially on sharp rocks like gravel, and you would be surprised at what a difference removing even a seemingly small amount of sole can make to a horse's comfort.
This is a very common complaint, and even good farriers/trimmers do make mistakes. Keep her off the sharp stuff for a week or two, and mention the soreness to your trimmer.

The trimmer didn't even touch the sole with a knife, actually, I don't even know if she has one! And that was what was kinda worrying me in the back of my mind but I could think of how to put it into words. The trimmer didn't take off any sole/frog and she was sore?
But that's good to know this is pretty common. I'm not going to go on another ride until next week and it sounds like she should be more comfortable by them. Thanks for the reassurance! *crossing my fingers*

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